The chairman of the Berks County Republican Party claims U.S. Rep. Gus Yatron, D-6th District, committed election improprieties in the campaign of Yatron's son George, who ran unsuccessfully last month for Berks County judge.

Yatron and his son have denied the accusations.

John Stahl, the GOP leader, has been told by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R- Pa., that there is little likelihood federal campaign fund corrective measures can be enacted to address the problem.

Stahl said yesterday he also complained by letter to U.S. Sen. John Heinz, R-Pa., but has not gotten a response. Richard Breyers, press secretary to the senator, said yesterday that he would check on Stahl's complaint.

The county GOP chairman said yesterday:

"As it is now, a congressman can amass a fortune, conduct a campaign, not spend any of the money and if defeated, he can retire and spend it any way he wants. There are some restrictions, but the bottom line is he gets to use the money for himself."

Stahl, in a Nov. 15 letter, said the Republican Party in Berks "endured a terrible situation" and asked the two state senators to sponsor corrective legislation to bar federal lawmakers from directing contributions to other candidates' campaigns.

The county GOP chairman said Yatron used his influence and his knowledge to help his son and also induced donors to contribute to his son's campaign.

"Three-fourths of the money received by the Democratic candidate (George Yatron, who is Berks district attorney) was from organizations, unions, individuals and action committees outside of Berks County, most of whom were outside of Pennsylvania."

Stahl said he feels it is improper for the elder Yatron to use his prestige to "re- quire" these people and organizations to give to some other committee or candidate.

"After all, euphemistically speaking, what do pipefitters in Ohio care about who is judge in Berks County?" Stahl said.

Rep. Yatron said yesterday he is unaware of specific donors who contributed to his son's campaign.

As to Stahl's charges, Yatron said he may have been asked by local labor leaders if he wanted them to support his son's candidacy but he knows nothing about any pipefitters from Ohio.

He said as far as he knows he did nothing illegal.

George Yatron said yesterday that Stahl's accusations are untrue.

"The majority of my contributors were local contributors," he said, adding that he might have received a personal campaign contribution from his father but that's all.

Specter responded to Stahl by stating that there are federal bipartisan reforms under consideration, but he noted that the U.S. Supreme Court, in Buckley vs. Valeo, limited the ability of congressmen "to initiate meaningful campaign finance reforms."

He reported that while he is sympathetic to how Stahl feels, what Stahl suggests might be deemed unconstitutional.

Specter said the conduct of elections for state offices is basically a matter for state lawmakers.

Stahl said he knew he would be fighting an uphill battle, but as a former state legislator, he feels that if corrective measures can't be written into law, they should be made a matter of campaign ethics.

He said such reforms could be added to the rules of the state House and Senate "to prohibit this kind of activity."